Date: 2014-11-11
Type of information: R&D agreement
Compound:
Company: GE Healthcare (USA - WI) Takeda Pharmaceutical (Japan)
Therapeutic area: Liver diseases - Hepatic diseases
Type agreement: R&D
Action mechanism: MR elastography is a technology in which MRI is used to generate images depicting the elasticity of the body’s internal tissues based on pulses administered externally. The main characteristic of the technology is its ability to distinguish and differentiate by color the relative stiffness of tissue. Measurement data acquired from the region of interest (ROI) defined for an image reflect the relative stiffness (elasticity) of the liver. Clinically, the technology holds promise for potentially aiding in the assessment of liver disease amid the uptrend in liver disease accompanying the ongoing aging trend in Japan\'s population
Disease: hepatic fibrosis, NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis)
Details: * On November 11, 2014, GE Healthcare and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company announced that they have entered into an alliance agreement for research and development in the field of hepatic fibrosis, a key factor in the diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases. This announcement coincides with AASLD, the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, held from 7-11 November in Boston, MA, USA. According to the alliance agreement, GE Healthcare will provide Takeda with its diagnostic imaging technology for use to generate a liver stiffness map as part of the research and development work Takeda is conducting on liver diseases. By optimizing the strengths of both companies in the alliance, the collaborative effort aims to help develop therapeutic drugs as well as new diagnostic technologies for liver diseases. Currently, the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis is most commonly conducted by a liver biopsy, in which a needle is inserted through the skin into the liver, a sample of which is then removed for measurement. With MR elastography commercialized by GE Healthcare, in use in the United States since 2009 and in Japan since 2012, it has become possible to measure the relative stiffness of liver tissues in a non-invasive manner. It is expected that this kind of GE Healthcare diagnostic technology will contribute to Takeda\'s efforts to develop innovative medicines. Details about the terms of the agreement including financial stipulations are not being disclosed. The contract pertains to an alliance involving diagnoses in the development of therapeutic drugs for liver disease.
Financial terms:
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